Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) has made some sweeping changes in the customs duty framework, for imported items. If you are a shopper who uses foreign online shopping portals such as AliExpress, ThinkGeek and others, then be prepared to shell out more customs duty.
The changes have been implemented by amending the Customs Tariff Act, 1975.
From now on, Customs Duty on Personal Items imported via any medium, including e-commerce portals, have been increased to 41.492%, which is an increase of 8-12%, compared to last rate slabs.
As per a 2015 amendment, the maximum slab of customs duty, 28.8% was applicable on products such as car parts, electronic appliances such as TV, music systems, video games, mobile phones, phone accessory, digital cameras, cosmetic goods, apparels, and food supplements.
As per the new notification by CBEC, the slab of customer duty on personal goods has been now increased to 41.492%.
Note here, that the new customs duty would be applicable for only those purchases which are more than Rs 2000. For less than Rs 2000 purchases, 14.7% customs duty would be implemented.
For purchases which are more than Rs 50,000 but less than Rs 2000, there would be customs duty of 41.492% and only after adjudication for policy violation under CTH 9804.
New Custom Duty Payable
| Personal Use Goods Value | Customs Duty Payable (all inclusive) |
| Rs 0 – Rs 2,000 | 14.712% |
| Above Rs 2000 – Rs 50,000 | 41.492% |
| Above Rs 50,000 | 41.492% and only after adjudication for policy violation under CTH 9804 |
Those who are actively shopping for cheap products on sites like AliExpress, eBay (US); or shopping electronic appliances and gadgets from ThinkGeek and Amazon (US) will feel the difference of this increased customs duty.
Another major change in the new custom policy is the inclusion of books into the tax net.
Earlier, there used to be no customs duty on educational books, which has now been stopped. This decision will severely impact medical and engineering students, who are required to purchase lots of imported books, via foreign online shopping portals.
We will keep you updated as we receive more information in this regard.